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DKLIVERED IN 



MELROSE, MASS 



July 4, 1876. 



ELBEIDGE H. GOSS 



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HISTORICAL ADDRESS 



DELIVERED IN 



TOWN HALL, 



MELROSE, MASS., 



July 4 , 1876 



ELBRIDGE H. GOSS 



ALSO, THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE DAY. 



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MELROSE 

1876. 
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ADDRESS 



Mr. Chairman, and Fellow- Citizens : — 

In accordance with Congressional act and Presidential 
proclamation, the people throughout the length and breadth 
of this good land of ours, are to-day assembled to make a 
note of passing events; to take a retrospective view of the 
past; to contemplate for a short time the small beginnings 
of our ancestors: their hardships, their struggles, their vic- 
tory. And we are assembled in our spacious town-hall now, 
to think, to talk, to hear something about Melrose — its 
early days, its growth, its people, its institutions. And we 
are here not only in accordance with the I'resident's pro- 
clamation, but by recommendation, also, of our own, indi- 
vidual town, through its Board of Selectmen. These towns 
of ours : do we appreciate them as we ought ? Do we fully 
realize what little independent kingdoms they are, governed 
and controlled in every minute particular by the people ? 
Nothing like them was known before our own New England 
was settled. Neither England nor any other country had 
known such independencies, such self-governed municipali- 
ties as have been, and are ours. Virginia, and all the rest 
of the colonies, excepting New England, were governed in 
a different manner. They had their counties, towns, hun- 
dreds, plantations and parishes; but the "municipality in 
New England was the simplest of all the municipal forms 
and the best adapted to develop the republican idea." Re- 
ferring to our early town system, George William Curtis 
says: "Each town was a small but perfect republic, as solitary 
and secluded in the New England wilderness as the Swiss 



4 msrORICAL ADDRESS. 

cantons among the Alps. No other practical )]e human insti- 
tution has been devised or conceived to secure the just ends 
of local government so felicitous as the town meeting." 
The choosing of selectmen and other officers at annual town 
meetings was first adopted by Massachusetts: and to Charles- 
town — of which we were originally a part — belongs the 
honor of establishing the first Board of Selectmen, in 1635, 
six years after its settlement. Dorchester, two years before, 
had tried a plan which approached this idea, but the inhab- 
itants of Charlestown matured and consummated it, and 
adopted an order, the original of Avhich is still preserved, 
with the signatures, and of which the following is a copy ; 
and a fac-simile of which may be found in Frothingham's 
"History of Charlestown :" — 

"An order made by the inhabitants of Charlestowne at a full 
meeting for the goverimient of the Town by Selectmen. 

" In consideration of the great trouble and chearg of the 
inhabitants of Charlestowne by reason of the frequent meeting 
of the townsmen in generall and y' by reason of many men 
meeting things were not so easely brought unto a joynt issue. 
It is therefore agreed by the sayde townesmen ioyntly that these 
eleven men whose names are written on the other syde, (w"' the 
advice of Pastor and Teacher desired in any case of conscience,) 
shall entreat of all such business as shall conscerne the Towns- 
men, the choice of officers excepted, and what they or the greater 
part of them shall conclude of the rest of the towne Millingly to 
submit imto as their owne propper act, and these 11 to continue 
in this employment for one yeare next ensuing, the date hereof 
being dated this : 10"' of February 1634 (1635.) 

"In witness of this agreement we whose names are under 
written have set o'r hands." ^ 

Soon afterward the General Court embodied this idea in 
its legislation, and provided for general town government. 
ThenceforAvard, from that day to this, year after year, the 
people of the towns have met in open town-meeting, and 
with free discussion upon all questions, elected their Board 
of Selectmen, and other officers, and transacted all other 
necessary business. In short, the town-meeting ever has 
been, and now is, the true glory of New England ; and before 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 5 

the Revolution, it was, indeed, "the nursery of American 
Independence." 

Long- before our independence was achieved, the Sci-ip- 
ture, "Proclaim lil)erty throughout all the land unto all the 
inhabitants thereof,"" had been cast into a certain bell, — 
destined to become a most famous one, — and placed upon i\\e 
State House in Philadelphia. True, "prophetic voices con- 
cerning America'" had spoken as early as 1752, when this 
bell was cast. Bishop Berkeley, Samuel Sewall, the Mar- 
quis D"Argenson, Turgot, and others, had plainly predicted 
the time when the colonies would be free : the latter saying 
in 1750, "Colonies are like fruits, which hold to the tree 
only until their maturity ; when sufficient for themselves, 
they did tJiat which Carthage afterwards did, — that which 
sofne da// America will do." And it came to pass that this 
very bell, which had been broken and recast twice, and been 
in constant use since 1752, with this heaven-born inscription 
upon it, should, one hundred years ago, declare Liberty, and 
ring out to the world the glad tidings, that a new nation 
had " sprung into existence, proclaiming in language under- 
stood by every ear, All Men are Born Free and Equal." 
A century has passed since the declaration thus heralded, 
and Avhich we have heard read to-day, became a reality; 
and we are now enjoying the blessings then fought for and 
established ; and, at this moment, almost every town, city, and 
hamlet is commemorating the event. To-day we celebrate 
the one hundredth anniversary of that all-important, that 
eventful epoch in our history. It has been said that cen- 
tennial celebrations are " strikings of the great clock of 
time, which admonish us to ponder upon the teachings of 
the past, and rightly appreciate the responsibilities of the 
present." This is, indeed, the glorious fourth of July : the 
centennial fourth of July I and are we not excusable if we 
indulge in a little self-glorification? But, to do this the 
most thoroughly, the most satisfactorily, it seems to me, it 
will be necessary for each to trace the rise and growth of 
their respective towns, from their small beginnings to their 
present stand-point. 

The Congressional act calling us together, suggests only 



6 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

"an historical sketch of the town from its formation." 
Strictly adhering to this, we should have nothing to do, 
now, except with events which have occurred from IcSoO 
to the present time. We occupy too interesting a spot, 
this domain has been too long settled, to be thus summarily 
dismissed. 

The territory of Melrose originally belonged to Charles- 
town, which was settled in 1629, and was a far more exten- 
sive region than now, as it included Maiden, Woburn, Stone- 
ham, Burlington, Somerville, a large part of Medford, a 
small part of Cambridge and Reading. Difficulties concern- 
ing the boundaries of the different towns arose very early and 
were settled by the General Court. -Inly 2, 16o3, "Mystic 
side" was granted to Charlestown, when it was ordered that 
the "ground lyeing betwixte the North [Maiden] RyV «i- 
the creeke on the north side of M' Mauacks [Maverick's] 
& soe vpp into the country, shall belong to the inhabitants 
of Charlton [Charlestown]. As "up into the country" did 
not determine how far the line should go, another order, 
passed March 8, 1636, was more definite : " That Charles 
Town l^ounds shall run eight myles into the country from 
their meeteing howse, if noe other bounds intercept." This 
undoubtedly covered our own Melrose territory. As Charles- 
town increased, its inhabitants crossed over the Mystic River 
as early as 1640, possibly before, and in that year a mill was 
erected near Mt. Prospect, by Thomas Coitmore. In 1649, 
this Mystic side was set off l)y the General Court and named 
Maiden, from a town in England bearing the same name, 
whence some of the early settlers came. Johnson, in his 
"Wonder Working Providence" says that the "foundation 
stones" of Maiden were laid "by certain persons who issued 
out of Charles Town, and indeed had her whole structure 
within the bounds of this more elder Town, being severed 
by the broad spreading river of Mistick the one from the 
other, whose troublesome passage caused the people on the 
North side of the river to plead for Town priviledges within 
themselves." The act of incorporation was brief, as com- 
pared with one passed now-a-days. It was as follows : 
"Upon the petition of Mistick side men, they are granted 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 7 

to be a distinct towne, & the name thereof to be called 
Mauldon." This whole region of Maiden above the settle- 
ment Avas a dense forest and covered "with stately timber," 
say the Charlestown records ; " and all the eonntry round 
about an uncouth Avilderness full of timber." It was the 
home of the Indian and the wild beast. It has been said 
that Avhen the first settlers at B(>ston sent out an exploring 
party, they came as far as the line of small hills below us in 
Maiden, and turning back reported that beyond the hills 
was a dense wilderness, and that probably nobody would 
ever penetrate the jungles. If it were possible tliat those 
same original explorers, could again come out from Boston, 
and, leaving Maiden behind them, move slowly up the val- 
ley, emerge from behind "Island Hill" and "Hog Island," 
behold the beautiful landscape spread out before them, and 
then on to the first resting place, right here, the}^ would be 
somewhat amazed. No Indians ! no wild beasts ! Nothinsf 
but harmless Melroseians ! I think that this time they 
would not, as then, return and report that this was a "waste 
howling wilderness." 

When Maiden became a town, in 1649, all its northern 
part (the territory we now occupy) w^as a tract of over two 
thousand acres of undivided land ; and came to be known 
as "The Commons." In time it was very desirable both as 
woodland and pasturage, and a variety of action was taken 
by the town looking to its preservation and utility; and in 
Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1694, it w^as "Voted, That ye 
common shall be divided : bottom and top, yt is, land and 
wood"; and, Nov. 26, a committee of three, Maj. Wm. John- 
son, Capt. John Smith and Capt. John Brown, reported to 
the town the manner in w^hich it should be done. A com- 
mittee of seven were chosen to proceed with the division. 
It was ordered that this committee " employ an artis to lay 
out the lots." Every lot was to "run 82 poles in length," 
and there was to be allowed " two poles in breadth between 
every range of lots for highways." "Everj^ proprietors 
name to be written distinctly, and ye lots be well shuffled 
together, and one man chose by the town to draw them out 
of a bag. The first name drawn to have the first lot." 



8 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

This division was thus made in 1695, when seventy-four 
freeholders then in Maiden received their respective allot- 
ments. 

That this part of Maiden known as " the Commons '" was 
settled before this division of land was made in 1695, is very 
evident from the order laying out the first road through 
Maiden by the General Court, in 1653, hereafter to be 
referred to ; and in the Maiden records at this time, March 
26, 1694, there is a report by a committee "to run lines 
between the Common & proprietors lands," as follows : 
" Run y"' bounds Round Reedy pond y"' bounds are first 
a great buttenwood tree before Joseph Lines dore — and 
so bounded Round with seuerall trees marked with letter C 
next common." This ""Reedy Pond" is supposed to be 
a small pond very near the boundary between Melrose and 
Maiden; and there are those now living who remember to 
have heard it thus called, and who also remember the large 
buttonwood tree referred to. Another vote passed May 18, 
1694, was " that Samuel Greenshall Injoy his hous and y*" 
land y' stands on and so much land about It as y** Commite 
shall se cause to lay to It"; clearly showing that a Samuel 
Green had a house, and lived here thus early. A year later, 
when the division was made, in speaking of lot number 04, 
the phrase is used " part east against Redding Rhode & part 
on y" west of y*" Greens farm." And it was not long after 
this division before a number of other families came here 
and settled; so that we had on our territory at the beginning 
of the year 1700, or very soon after, the families of six or 
seven different names. 

In later years, as time rolled on, we were no longer 
" The Commons," but known as North Maiden, and so re- 
mained until the year 1850, when, after several Legislative 
hearings, and a long struggle, an act incorporating the town 
of Melrose, was approved by Gov. George N. Briggs, on the 
3d of Mdij. Three years later, in 1853, after another severe 
contest, a part of Stoneham was set off to Melrose, giving 
us the greater portion of what we call the ** Highlands"; 
and we now have a territory, roads and all, of nearly or (piite 
thirty-five hundred sq^uare acres. Our name, Melrose, was 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 9 

adopted at the suggestion of our townsman, William Bogle, 
Esq., who had then been living here a few years, coming 
before the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, and when 
he had to go back and forth by the stage-coach, which com- 
menced running between Reading and Boston in 1798. Mr. 
Bogle evidently had two or three objects in view in offering 
us our name ; — one, a sweet sounding one, that had not been 
in common use, we being the first to adopt it in our country; 
another, as a memory of his native land ; and still another, 
because of the great resemblance of our town to Melrose in 
Scotland : taking the "Abbey " out of the scene, and the 
similarity of the two places, the situation of the surrounding- 
hills and the valley, is ver}^ striking. 

OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS. 

Although Melrose as a town is young in years, her terri- 
tory has been occupied over two centuries. We have houses 
that are, parts of them, very nearly if not quite two hundred 
years old ; possibly older. Here originally lived the Lyndes, 
the Greens, the Uphams, the Barretts, the Spragues, the 
Howards, and the Vintons. At a later date, but still far 
enough back to be called old settlers, some before, and some 
about the time of the Revolution, there came the Pratts, the 
Grovers, the Emersons, the Edmundses, the Herrings, and 
perhaps others ; a very large part of these came from families 
that originally settled in Maiden centre. Then still later the 
Larrabees, the Boardmans, the Hemmenways, the Tainters, 
the Fullers, and some others came to North Maiden. Mr. 
Aaron Green very distinctly remembers, at a period about sixty 
years ago, when there were only thirty-five homesteads, all 
unpainted, in Melrose, and, recently, he very kindly pointed 
out to me where they stood, or are still standing. The dif- 
ferent branches of the earliest settlers I have mentioned 
occupied a very large share of these homesteads. This was 
thirty vears before the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, 
which was opened through Melrose in 1845. 

As we examine the voting and tax-lists of to-day, we see 
the reason for so long an array of the names of Upham, 
Lynde, Green, Sprague, Barrett, Vinton, and some others 
2 



10 IIISrOllICAL ADDRESS. 

mentioned, nearl}' all of which have streets named in their 
memory. Tliey were the original, early settlers of this 
beautiful spot. Here they lived and liad their farms, their 
homesteads ; and after generations, leaving the old homes, 
built new ones, many of which are still standing, venerable 
and antique. How changed the scene to-day in this com- 
munity, as compared with those early days, or even a hun- 
dred years ago. Where then was only the few old fashioned 
homesteads, distant neighbors to each other, with, perhaps, 
fifty souls all told, now a thiiving town of over four thou- 
sand inhabitants; then the quiet and seclusion of a thoroughly 
rural and farm life, now the activity of a growing and in- 
dustrious communit3^ 

It is extremely interesting to think about these old fam- 
ilies of ours. " The sacred tie of famih/, reaching l>acl<ward 
and forward, binds the generations of men together, and 
draws out the plaintive music of our being from the solemn 
alternation of cradle and grave," says P^verett. I had in- 
tended, if possible, in a somewhat particular manner to trace 
out the farms and homesteads of most or all of the original 
settlers of Melrose ; this would require time and much patient 
research of musty documents and records — and it could 
not be done in the short time allotted me for my task. I 
can only touch upon these matters, and give you a few items 
which I have gathered concerning them. A partial collec- 
tion of materials for such a history and description has been 
made by our townsman, Artemas Barrett, Esq., who intends 
to finish the search and give us the result if his life is spared 
long enough. It is a difficult undertaking, requiring much 
patience, research and leisure ; our hope is that his desire 
and intention may come to a successful fruition. 

The Lyndes are one of the oldest of our families, and 
have owned, in former times, nearly all of the soutliern 
part of Melrose. The}'^ all descended from Ensign Thomas 
Lynde, who came to Maiden soon after its incorporation, 
and was the eldest son of Thomas, who came over and set- 
tled at Charlestown, becoming a freeman in IG-M. On the 
old road, now Washington Street, there stands the oldest 
of the Lyude liouses ; and it is, also, the oldest house in 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 11 

Melrose, known as the Jabez, or Jabe Lynde house. Tra- 
dition says that it is over two hundred years of age ; and 
this may be so, for we shall see that this territory was occu- 
pied by the Lynde family as early as 1653 ; whether so or 
not, there are many here who remember its old fashioned 
style ; its little diamond paned windows with leaden sashes, 
and its wide front door throngh which its huge fire logs of 
the early daj^s were drawn. A few years ago this house 
was altered over, and is now known as the "Grundy house." 
Near by, back from this same street, is the Jonathan Lynde 
homestead, which is very old indeed, and by some has been 
thought the oldest of the two. Jonathan died a few years 
ago at the age of 85, and his brother William is now living 
there, at the age of 83. In this old hou&e was born our 
townsman, Mr. Aaron Green, whose father once tilled this 
farm for a number of years. The Joseph Lynde house, a 
large portion of it, on the plain yonder, — that place that ever 
looks so charming, its buildings so clean, white and beauti- 
ful, — is a very old one. In the cellar of this house, there is, 
indeed, a relic of "ye olden time," which I have examined. 
It is an oak log, a little larger and taller than a barrel, 
scooped out like a mortar, with an iron hoop around the 
top ; the pestle is gone. In this the corn was pounded and 
ground. As the Coitmore mill was built in 1640, and was 
not over two miles distant from any of the Lynde houses, 
it would seem as if this must have been in use before that 
time ; possibly economy caused them to use it, notwith- 
standing the nearness of the mill, so that it may not be so 
very ancient; however that may have been, no one seems 
to be able to say ; and I only know, that there it is, a curious 
relic of by-gone days. The Warren Lynde house, a little 
way this side, on Main Street, stands on the site of the old 
liomestead, in which he and his brothers and sisters, — one 
of the sisters being the mother of Artemas Barrett, — were 
born; as was also their father, Benjamin, before them. The 
old house was Ijurned many years since and the present one 
built. Mr. Lynde tells me that an old cellar-hole existed 
on the road, now Sylvan Street, up to the time when the 
Wyoming Cemetery was laid out, when it was filled ; he 



12 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

has ever understood tins to be where lived one of the early 
Lynde families, but does not know whieh one ; it was not 
far from the old original road of 1653. The John Lynde 
house, on " Louisburg Square,'" at the junction of Lebanon, 
Grove and Lynde Streets, was built by John's father, Joseph, 
considerably over a hundred years ago, and is now in good 
condition ; and the magnificent elm tree standing' in front 
of it was set out by the builder of the house very nearly a 
century ago. The oldest living representatives of the various 
Lynde families, is the William Lynde already mentioned, 
who is 83 years of age. 

The ancestor of all the Greens in Melrose was Thomas 
Green, who settled in Maiden as early as 165L He very 
early owned a farm of sixty-three acres at the " Highlands," 
and it was probably this farm, then in the hands of his son 
Samuel, that is referred to as being exempted when " the 
Commons " were divided in 1695. However early the orig- 
inal Thomas may have owned it, from that day to this, a 
portion of the same farm has been in the possession of his 
descendants. His grandson John lived here when he died 
in 1736. How long he had been here I do not know, but 
in his will he left to his son John '' my dwelling house and 
barn, and the land adjoining, that lyeth on the west side of 
the country road that leadeth from Maiden to Reading, that 
was my grandfather's"; and to his son Jonah, or Jonas, "all 
my land on the east side of the country road aforesaid." 
This old homestead was on what was known as " Back 
Lane," which led from the old road spoken of to Stoneham, 
before the county road from Stoneham to Lynn was built. 
John's property was inherited by his son John, — the Johns 
were thick in the Green family, — who built and lived in 
what has been known for many years as the "John Green 
House," on Franklin Street near Main, which still stands, 
though moved from its original site, back from the street, 
and modernized. The house of Jonas Green, son of the 
Jonas with whom the land was divided in 1753, still stands 
in its original condition, on the right hand side of Main 
Street, over "•Reading Hill,'" almost to the line between 
Wakefield and Melrose. The oldest descendant of the 



rOlfJV OF MELROSE. 13 

Green family living with us to-day, is Mrs. Nancy Green 
Emerson, — mother of Mr. James G. Emerson, — who is now 
87 years of age. 

The Barretts are one of our oldest Melrose families. 
Deacon Jonathan Barrett, son of James, who was h(n-n in 
Maiden in 1(344, and grandson of James who first settled in 
Charlestown in 1635, came to Melrose about 1705, and huilt 
his homestead on or near " Barrett Lane," now Porter Street. 
His grand&ou, Joseph, built on the present Porter place, 
and his homestead still forms a part of the residence of Mr. 
Charles Porter. His son, Captain Jonathan Barrett, bought 
the house on Vinton Street, now known as the " Mountain 
House," in which he commenced the manufacture of shoes, 
and was the first and only one who carried on that business 
until he died, when he was succeeded by the late Mr. George 
Emerson. Capt. Barrett was the father of Artemas Barrett, 
Esq., who is with us to-day, and who was born in this same 
old " Mountain House," as were also others of the Barretts, 
among them Mr. Jonathan Barrett, also with us. An uncle 
of Artemas, Peter Barrett, was the father of Augustus, until 
recently one of our citizens, now of Claremont, N. H. The 
oldest living representative of these families now with us, is 
Mr. Charles Barrett, aged 70. 

The Spragues are one of our early families. In 1620, 
three brothers, Ralph, Richard, and William Sprague settled 
at Charlestown, and their names are first on a list of the 
inhabitants for that year. John, the oldest son of Ralph, 
settled in Maiden, near the Coitmore mill, which was for 
many years in possession of the Sprague family. The young- 
est son of John, Phineas, came to Melrose not far from the 
year 1700, as his son, Phineas, was born here that year; and 
the homestead was on what is now Foster Street, and the 
residence of Liberty Bigelow, Esq., stands on its site. The 
grandson of our first Phineas, also named Phineas, was the 
Revolutionary patriot of whom so many anecdotes are told, 
and succeeded to the old farm and homestead on Foster 
Street. In later years, previous to the ownership of Mr. 
Bigelow, it was known as the Cotton Sprague place. Cotton 
being a son of Phineas. The old house still standinu' at the 



14 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

corner of Foster and Vinton Streets, near the liarrett lionie- 
steacl, was known as the Jonathan Sprague phice, Jonathan 
being another son of Phineas, and brother of Cotton. Hcie 
in this neighborhood, around tlie Barrett homestead and 
manufactory, was situated "the vilLage," where, fifty years 
and more ago, the people from different [)arts of the town 
wonkl congregate tV)r social chat and pleasure. The nearest 
house to "the village," after the Sprague houses just men- 
tioned, was that of John Larrabec, — the great-grandfather 
of our present Town Clerk, John Larrabee, Esip, — situated 
on Vinton Street, now the residence of Mr. Smitli W. 
Nichols. 

Many interesting things might be told concerning the third 
Phineas Si)rague who lived on Foster Street. Mr. Artemas 
Barrett has many of his original papers, some of which have 
been printed. His account of the fearfully dark day, from 
a diary he kept, will only now be given. 

" Frida May the 19th. 1780. 
" This day was the most Remarkable day that ever my eyes 
beheld the air liad bin full of smoak to an uncommon degree 
So that wee could scairce see a mountain at two miles distance 
for 3 or 4 days Past till this day after Noon the sraoak all went 
off to the South at sunset a very black bank of a cloud appeared 
in the south and west the Nex morning cloudey and thundered 
in tlie west about ten oclock it began to Rain and grew vere 
dark and at 12 it was allniost as dark as Nite so that wee was 
obliged to lite our eandels and Eate our dinner by candel lite 
at Noon day but between 1 and 2 oclock it grew lite again 
but in the Evening the cloud cairn over us again the moon was 
about the full it was the darkest Nite that ever was seen by us 
in the world." 

This agrees with the old couplet in point of time and fact: — 

"In 1780, tlic nineteenth day of May, 

Will ever be remembered as l)eiiii^ the dark day." 

Capt. Phineas Sprague, the fifth generation of that name, 
who died February 9th, 1869, at the age of 92, was a grand- 
son of the Phineas of whom we have been speaking, and 
his father's homestead was on Porter Street; and his brother. 




TOWN OF MELJ^OSE 15 

Richard Price Sprague, is still with us at the age of 80. 
Capt. Sprague's homestead still stands at the junction of 
Main and Lebanon Streets, opposite 1^ Pond, and was built 
in 1810. We had other Spragues here, also. Samuel Sprague, 
who served on our quota during the late Rebellion, and now 
with us, descended from another branch of the same original 
family. The oldest representative of these families, is Mrs. 
Mary Sprague Boardman, now living on Main Street, at the 
age of 89. 

The following is a fac-simile of the signature of Lieut. 
Phineas Upham, of Maiden, son of John Upham who came 

. to this country and 

?^;^i^^ /(jnOQclA^ ^^^^ admitted free- 
/ ^ man in 1635, and 

settled in Maiden 
about the year 1(350. Lieut. Upham was a very active 
officer in " King Philip's War," conducting many scout- 
ing parties, and was severely wounded at the great battle 
at " Narragansett Fort," Dec. 19, 1675, two hundred years 
ago, from the effects of which wound he died the follow- 
ing year. This signature I traced from the original docu- 
ment at the State House, which he signed, together with a 
number of other commissioned officers, a few days before 
this fight, and which they sent " To the Hon. Governor and 
Council Now Sitting at Boston," in which they made a 
request for company quartermasters, horses, trumpeters, &c. 
From this Lieut. Upham descended all the Maiden and 
Melrose Uphams ; the first one coming to this part of the 
town being Phineas Ujiham, a grandson of the Lieutenant ; 
and he came not far from the year 1700, and his homestead 
was undoubtedly on Upham Hill, where many of his descend- 
ants have ever since resided ; there being, at the present 
time, on LTpham Street, not less than three of the Upham 
homesteads, the houses of which must be at least a hundred 
years old ; and two of them, I think, those of Asa and Jesse, 
considerably more than that. 

The old house, which* so many of us remember, that stood 
on the-cornerof Green and Howard Streets, at "Norrisville," 
now all gone but the stone door-slab, was built by Phineas 



16 mSTORICAL ADDRESS. 

Upham, son of the Phineas who first cami' here, not far from 
the year 1730. The lot on which it was built was a part of 
lot No. 87 of the division of 1695, and was bought by his 
father of Joseph Wilson, in 1703. The widow of the Uphani 
who built this house married Israel Cook, in 1744, who here 
kept the first store in this town, and who was granted a 
license to sell rum, by the General Court, as early as 1759, 
and that article was continued to be sold here up to, and 
beyond the time of the Revolution, if we judge from the 
story of the two Lynn ''minute men," — Hadley and Well- 
man, — who, filled with the spirit of patriotism, were on 
their way to Lexington, stopped here and became filled with 
another kind of spirit ; then went on their way and were 
both killed. In this house was used the first stove in our 
town, and as a whole the old house had an interesting his- 
tory, but it is now a thing of the past. We still have with 
ns many of the Uphams, the oldest living representatives 
being Freeman, George, and Eri, all of different families, 
and all about G") years of age. 

A very interesting })art of the early history of Melrose 
centers on Upham hill, on which so many of our early fam- 
ilies congregated, and which still is one of the pleasantest 
parts of our pleasant town. 

On a road leading by the present Parker place, are the 
cellar holes of two of the houses of two of our early families, 
the Herrings and the Edmundses. On Mr. Francis Hem- 
menway's place, corner of East and Porter Streets, there 
used to be, in years gone by, an Indian wigwam, which stood 
there for a long while ; and Mr. Hemmenway tells, with mucli 
delight, of an "Indian Muster" which once took place here, 
about the year 1820 ; and which, he says, was the "biggest 
day Melrose ever saw," when the town was literally covered 
with people from Reading. Hill to where now stands Masonic 
Hall. Mr. Hemmenway represented an Indian squaw, and 
carried Charles Porter on his back as a papoose. The militia, 
about three hundred in number, were commanded by the 
late Capt. Thomas Emerson, of Wakefield, a brother of our 
Mr. William Emerson, soon to be spoken of. 

Thomas and Renoni Vinton, — direct descendants of the 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 17 

original settler, John Vinton, of Lynn, who came to this 
country not far from 1643, — settled in Melrose, the part 
then Stoneham, about the year 1742. They married sisters, 
Hannah and Mary Green. Thomas Vinton left three sons, 
Thomas, Timothy, and Ezra, all of whom had farms at the 
Highlands, and the homesteads are still standing ; that of 
the oldest brother, Thomas, is the first dwelling on Tremont 
Street south of the Highland Chapel, and still in good con- 
dition ; that of Timothy, on Ashland Street, between the 
residence of Mr. Charles A. Messenger and Franklin Street, 
although it has been turned round and altered ; this was the 
homestead of the father, Thomas, and must be considerably 
over one hundred years old, as he died in 1763 ; and the 
homestead of Ezra, on Vinton Street, a large and imposing- 
house in its day, is just south of the residence of Horatio N. 
Perkins, Esq. These three brothers lived side by side, on 
the old county road from Stoneham to Lynn, which was dis- 
continued in part when Franklin Street was built. They 
were all in Capt. Samuel Sprague's company of " minute 
men," which marched from Stoneham to Lexington when 
the alarm was given. They were all well-to-do farmers. 
Timothy, who never married, but lived with his mother on 
the old homestead, until she died in 1804, lived to be 92 
years of age, and died in 1836, an abject miser. Turning 
his farm productions into money, he would hide it in all sorts 
of out-of-the-way places ; burying some of it in the ground, 
a part of which was undoubtedly lost ; 500 Spanish dollars, 
old and tarnished, found in his house, were divided among 
his relatives immediately after his funeral. Thomas, left a 
son Thomas, who died in 1841, aged 70, of whom it is said 
he never left his farm for forty years, and never visited 
Boston but once, although living so near it. He left a very 
singular will, bequeathing his property in a curious manner 
to the Baptist Churches of Wakefield and Maiden. 

Mary Vinton, a sister of these three brothers, Thomas, 
Timothy, and Ezra, married William Emerson, the grand- 
father of Isaac and George, who are with us to-day. Mr, 
Emerson was born in Wakefield, lived awhile in Woburn, 
but spent most of his days in Melrose, where lie died iji 
3 



18 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

1848, aged 88 years. He enlisted in the Revolutionary 
army at the early age of 18, and the relation of his experi- 
ence in that service to his children and grandchildren was 
always very entertaining. His first homestead " stood near 
the old well with a narrow cartway between the house and 
well," says his son, the Rev. Warren Emerson. This house 
was on a lane, now Emerson street, on the site of the house 
of the late Amos P. Lynde, where Mr. Emerson kept a public 
house for a number of years, and when Mr. Lynde built he 
converted the old inn into a barn, and it still stands on the 
corner of Lebanon and Emerson Street, now a dwelling 
house. In this old public house all of Mr. Emerson's children 
were born, excepting Isaac, the oldest son, who was born in 
Woburn. His last homestead, on the corner of Main and 
Emerson Streets, was built in 1807, is still standing, and 
into which the family moved on the 7th of November. This 
date was written with chalk by the youngest son, Warren, 
on the day the family took possession, on a rafter in the 
eastern end of the garret, and it remained there until within 
a few years, when it was obliterated with whitewash. 

Martha Vinton, another sister of these three brothers, 
married John Pratt, who lived in the south-eastern part of 
tlie town, on what is now Lebanon Street, who built a house 
still standing, and occupied by his son Charles Pratt. There 
are other interesting items concerning other of the Vintons, 
but they cannot now be given. Many of the descendants 
are still with us, and the oldest living representative is Mrs. 
Phebe Vinton Lynde, now 85 years of age. 

There are other families and homesteads in Melrose that 
ought to l)e spoken of in a sketch of this kind, as they have 
entertaining histories ; but there is only time to allude to 
one more, the Howards. On Howard Street, near wliere 
the old Cook house stood, still stands the old Deacon Samuel 
Howard house, built a])Out the time the Cook or Upham 
house was, in 1730. Here stood until quite recently the 
old-fashioned "well-sweep" and its well. There are still 
left two of these " well-sweeps," one on Porter Street, on Mr. 
Hemmenway's place, and the other on the George Upham 
liomestead, on Upham Street, and long may it be before the}' 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 19 

shall disappear. In the Amos Howard homestead, on the 
corner of Porter and Lebanon Streets, and which was stand- 
ing during the Revolution, a large family of children were 
born, among them the late Mrs. Isaac Emerson — Atalanta 
Howard — and Mr. Nathaniel Howard — " Uncle Nat." The 
oldest living representative of the Howards, now with us, 
is Mrs. Mary Howard Wilson, 93 years of age. 

These original families, of which we have l)een speaking, 
living here in the seclusion they did, intermarried to a very 
great extent, and it would be pleasant to trace some of these 
relationships. 

ROADS. 

The first road, and only one for many years wliicli passed 
through Melrose, was laid out by order of the General Court, 
two and a quarter centuries ago, at a session held Sept. 10, 
1653. Some of the names of persons and places here men- 
tioned, will be recognized as Melrose ones : " Thomas Marshall, 
John Smyth & John Sprague being cliosen to lay out the 
country high way betweene Reddinge & Winnesemett 
[Chelsea,] do lay it out as follows : from Redding towne, 
through Maldon bounds, betwixt the pond & John Smyths 
land, [this pond evidently is the present " Smith's Pond," 
in Wakefield, as Maiden bounds then extended thus far, and 
until Stoneham was set off in 1725,] & so by the east side 
of M'- Joseph Hills land, to New Hockley Hole, & so in the 
old way by the Cow Pen, [I am unable to identify the 
locality of " New Hockley Hole " or the " Cow Pen ; " they 
were probably near Greenwood or the Highlands,] & thence 
along on the east side of Thomas Coitmores lott, by Ele 
Pond, in the old way, to Thomas Lynds land, then through 
the first field, & so by the field by his howse, from thence, 
on the old way, by Maldon meeting howse, through the 
stony swampe, &c. * * * the sd way to be fower pole broade, 
in good ground, «& six or eight where need requires." " The 
old way " so often referred to in this order, means the 
old, crooked, Indian or bridle path or trail, in use before 
this date, winding hither and thither, going around this hill, 
shunning that swamp or bog, and over which the earlj^ 
traveller wended his way between Reading and Chelsea. 



20 IIISTOlilVAL ADDRESS. 

Our L Pond is here spoken of, and we see that Maiden then 
had a meeting-house, four years after its incorporation. 

Within a few days I have been over most of this old road, 
a large share of which is now discontinued, but is still, in 
many parts, quite distinct. Main Street was laid out in 1806, 
and built soon after, and portions of the old road then and 
previously — as some parts of the original road had been 
superceded by the one in use when Main Street was 
opened — abandoned as a highway, became absorbed by 
private intei-ests. 

Beginning at tlie boundary line between Wakefield and 
Melrose, this original road followed the present Main Street 
a short distance, crossing it twice, and leaving it for a little 
way, before reaching the brow of Reading Hill; thence 
through the small woods parallel with the present street, still 
clearly defined, under the L of the Barber house, and on to 
Green Street, near where that street leaves Main; thence 
through the whole of Green Street, by L Pond, through 
Lebanon Street to Louisburg Square, down Lynde Street, 
to near where the "Dolly Upliam " house now stands, when 
it left that street and went back of, or on the east side of 
" Boston Rock," following somewhat nearly the course of 
the present Linwood Avenue, almost to Sylvan Street, 
crossing through the woods just before reaching the latter 
street ; thence diagonally across Wyoming Cemetery to its 
southwest corner ; thence over hill and dale, through the 
woods to Forest Street, entering that street near the old 
Jacob Pratt house ; thence to Main Street, skirting 
Waite's Mount. That part of the old road from Wyoming 
Cemetery to Forest Street is remarkably well preserved and 
clearly defined, and as easily driven over to-day as ever ; and 
the rocks in the wheel-ruts show the abrasion of the old time 
usage very distinctly. After diligent inquiry I am clearly 
of the opinion that the old Pratt house just referred to, on 
Forest Street, must stand on or near the site of the old 
" howse " of Thomas Lynde spoken of in the order of 1653, 
as also of the Joseph Lynde's — Joseph being, perhaps, 
son of Thomas — house, which with its land was exempted 
by the Committee in the division of "the Commons " in 1695, 



TOWJV OF MELROSE. 21 

Afterwards, but when I cannot ascertain, the road just 
described was straightened somewhat from Lel)anon Street, 
by passing through the whole of Lynde Street, to Main, by 
Masonic Hall, leaving it soon after, passing back of the 
Grover house, by Mr. Alvin Lynde's, and thence near the 
foot of Boston Rock, across the meadow, back of the Joseph 
Lynde barns, through the pines to Main Street again, some- 
where near "Island Hill." On a plan of Maiden, surveyed 
by Peter Tufts, Jr., of Medford, in 1795, the only roads laid 
down in what was then North Maiden, are, the main road as 
last described, called the " Reading Road," and a " Stoneham 
Road," which leaves this near where our Masonic Hall now 
is ; this is what is now our Wyoming Avenue, Hurd, Cottage 
and Vinton Streets, then hardly anything more than a cart- 
way. About this time " Upham Lane," our present Upham 
Street, was built through to Chelsea line, a portion of which 
town, at that time, extended up to Reading, between Maiden 
and Saugus ; and a few years before this, what is now 
Howard Street was built through to Saugus, making a con- 
tinued county road from Stoneham to Lynn. For many 
years these were our only streets or roads. Foster Street 
was the first cross street built, a few years before the rail- 
road was opened ; soon after, Wyoming Avenue, named b}'^ 
Mr. Bogie, and other streets were laid out; and after this, as 
our town increased in population, new ones have been 
opened year by year, until now, when we have nearly thirty 
miles of streets, and all in very good condition. 

CHURCHES. 

Our forefathers had to wend their way to "middle-town" 
on the Sabbath-day to attend public worship, as they did also 
on election days to vote. About the year 1813, the first 
preaching service was held in the old district school-house, 
near the corner of the old road, now Lebanon Street, and 
" Upham Lane," now Upham Street, the only school-house 
then in North Maiden. In 1815 a Methodist Episcopal 
Church was formed, which continued to hold its service in 
this house until 1818, when a church edifice was built on 
the green at the junction of Main and Green Streets, which, 



22 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

quaintly shaped and arranged little affair, many now living 
remember. This was occu})ied by that society until 1S42, 
when a new and larger one was built on the same spot, and 
dedicated Nov. oO, of that year, and which was used until 
1857, when it was sold, moved down near the corner of 
Main and Essex Streets, became '' Concert Hall," and per- 
ished in the flames of Nov. 80, 1875, with Hoardman's Block, 
just thirty-three years from the day it was dedicated. The 
Society then in 1857, built the eidifice now in use on ]\Iain 
Street, which was dedicated April 1. Wright says, in his 
sermon of 1831, "Two individuals, formerly members of this 
church, are now successfully engaged in publishing the 
tidings of salvation to their fellowmen." This refers to the 
Rev. Frederick Upham, and Rev. Warren Emerson, both 
born in Melrose, and still preaching ; the former in Vwh- 
haven, Mass., and the latter in West Thompson, Conn. The 
present pastor is Rev. Sanford B. Sweetser. 

About the year 1828, while this Society, the Methodist 
Episcopal, was in the old church at the junction of Main and 
Green Streets, there arose a very serious trouble, beginning 
with a disaffection with certain members, who became dis- 
pleased with the form of church government, and a division 
took place, and a new church was formed, called the 
" Protestant Methodist," of ten-times the " Reformed Method- 
ists." This new society bought the old district school-house, 
and moved it down to Main Street, near the site of the 
present Baptist Chapel, and commenced their labors. 

A volume might be written, giving a history of this 
division; the trials and trouldcs, the heart-burnings, anec- 
dotes, the attempts to re-unite, and other incidents; possibly, 
some day the story may be told. There were those living 
here in those days, — some are living to-day, — who were 
so ungracious, so irreverent, as to call this school-house 
church the " Duck Pen ; " and in contradistinction, the 
mother-church-building, the "Cider Mill." In the year 1841, 
the Protestant Methodist Society built a new edifice, and the 
" Duck Pen " was moved to the corner of Foster and Myrtle 
Streets, altered into a tenement house, and was burned with 
the Orthodox Church, Feb. 17, 18G9. This society continued 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 23 

worshipping in this edifice until January 1, 1856, when it 
was merged into the First Baptist Church, which society 
continued to use the meeting-house, with some occasional 
repairs and alterations, until July, 1873, when it was sold 
to the Catholics, and succeeded by the neat, brick chapel 
now in use, and which was dedicated, Nov. 17, 1874. Rev. 
Napoleon B. Thompson is the present pastor. 

The next church, the Orthodox Congregational, was 
formed July 11, 1848, and its first edifice on Foster Street, 
dedicated May 17, 1849. Previous to this, preaching services 
liad been held in the parlor of Dr. Levi Gould, in the small 
house opposite the present Methodist Church. Dr. Gould 
was the first male member of an Orthodox Church that came 
to Melrose. Soon afterward meetings were held at the house 
of Dea. Jonathan Cochran, and then at the centre depot of 
the Boston and Maine R. R. This church building on 
Foster Street was remodelled and enlarged in 1858, and de- 
stroj^ed by fire, Feb. 17, 1869. The new and handsome 
edifice now in use by that church, was dedicated Oct. 26, 
1870, and the present pastor is the Rev. Albert G. Bale. 

The next, the Universalist Society, was formed in 1849, 
and the meetings held in " Academy Hall," then standing 
on Berwick Street, and afterwards moved to Main Street, 
where it became " Lyceum Hall," and was destroyed by 
fire, Aug. 21, 1870. The church building on Essex Street, 
now in use by that Societ}^ was dedicated in 1851, and 
Rev. William A. Start is now the pastor. 

The next Society formed here was Trinity Church — 
Episcopal — May 20, 1857, its first service being held at "the 
residence of Mr. Samuel Rice, on Lake Avenue, now that 
of A. V. Lynde, Esq. ; after that in Waverley Hall ; and 
their church was erected on Emerson Street, and dedicated 
in the fall of 1859. Rev. Henry A. Metcalf is the present 
rector. 

The next and sixth church formed in Melrose, was the 
Unitarian Congregational, which was organized July 17, 
1867, and their chapel, on Emerson Street, was dedicated 
May 1, 1872. 

The seventh church, the Catholic, was formed in April, 



24 niSTORICAL ADDRESS. 

1873, which purchased the ohl Baptist church edifice, moved 
it to Dell Avenue, and commenced services therein in Octo- 
ber of that year. Rev. Dennis J. O'Farrell, present pastor. 
The eighth and last church formed was the Highlands 
Congregational, organized Sept. 29, 1875, and which now 
worships in the Highlands Chapel. Rev. D. Allen More- 
house is the present pastor. 

SCHOOLS. 

• 

The only school in Melrose for many years was held in 
the plain, unpainted district school-house, before referred 
to as having been sold, moved, and used as a church, and 
afterwards burned. It was built in the year 1800, was 
twenty by twenty-five feet in size, and was situated on a 
knoll on the old road, now Lebanon Street, about a dozen 
rods south of " Upham Lane." In this old school-house, 
Robert Gerry, who died in Stoneham, April 1, 1873, in his 
ninetieth year, taught school during the winter season for 
twenty-four years in succession, commencing in 1803. Here 
the North Maldenites learned to "read, write, and cipher." 
Many now living, and a number that now hear me, Avent to 
school in this old house, taking their turns at building fires 
and sweeping out. And I am told that one person, probably 
with us at this moment, once received a very severe birch- 
ing, which he, undoubtedly, very distinctly remembers, — at 
any rate, if he does not, there are those here who do. The 
boys and girls from the west part of the town, came " across 
lots," passing by the old Howard house, on Main Street, 
near here, still standing, and crossed L Pond brook on a 
log. Mr. Warren Ljnide says that, occasionally, when the 
school did not keep here, he went to " middle-town," as did 
probably others, going over the old road by the foot of 
"Boston Rock." After this house was sold, a new one was 
built on Upham Street, in 1828, by the schoolmaster, Robert 
Gerry, for the town of Maiden, Avhich was burned about 
the year 1845 ; and the one built on its site was the only 
schoolhouse we had when Melrose was incorporated ; in it 
was kept a Primary, Intermediate, and Grammar School. 
This house was burned in April, 1874, and was succeeded 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 25 

by the present new and handsome Grammar School struct- 
ure. As Meh'ose increased in population, new school-houses 
were built in various parts of the town, and we now have 
seven, — one of which is a High School building, — in which 
we have fourteen schools, all in most excellent condition, 
with good teachers, and a carefully supervising committee, 
as we have had opportunity to witness in the recent 
examinations. 

REVOLUTION. 

Melrose took her part nobly in the war of the Revolu- 
tion, inasmuch as many of her sons were engaged in it. 
Maiden, of which we were then a part, was a very patriotic 
town, and sent forth not only her sons, but several spirited 
manifestos, before and during the war. Her "• Instructions 
of the town to its Representative, Passed May 27, 1776," 
one month before the Declaration of Independence, is a doc- 
ument full of intense feeling ; its tone firm, manly and true ; 
honesty of purpose and determination of will pervade its 
every line. It would be highly appropriate to read the 
whole paper to-day, but it is too lengthy ; one or two sen- 
tences must suffice : " It is now the ardent wish of our- 
selves that America may become Free and Independent 
States. * * * Unjustifiable claims have been made by the 
king and his minions, to tax ns without our consent. These 
colonies have been prosecuted in a manner cruel and unjust 
to the highest degree. The frantic policy of Administration 
hath induced them to send Fleets and Armies to America, 
that by depriving us of our trade, and cutting the throats 
of our brethren, they might awe us into submission, and 
erect a system of despotism which should so far enlarge 
the influence of the Grown, as to enable it to rivet their 
shackles uj^on the people of Great Britain. * * * We, there- 
fore, renounce with disdain our connection with the Kingdom 
of Slaves ; we bid a final adieu to Britain, * * * and we now 
instruct you. Sir, to give them the strongest assurance, that 
if they should declare America to be a Free and Independent 
Republic, your constituents will support and defend the 
measure to the Last Drop of their Blood and the Last Far- 
4 



26 niSTORICAL ADDRESS. 

thing of their Treasure.'''' So strong, forcible, and eloquent 
was this address, that Chief Justice Marshall thought it 
worthy of quotation in his "• Life of Washington." 

A little over a year ago an article was pul)lished in the 
Melrose Journal, by Mr. Barrett, entitled " Melrose in the 
Concord Fight." In this was given the roll of Capt. Ben- 
jamin Blaney's company of Maiden men, which, on the 19th 
of April, went "to resist the ministerial troops." The names 
of the Melrose men in the company were as follows : Ser- 
geant Jabez Lynde, Nathan Eaton, Joseph Lynde, Jr., Ezra 
Howard, John Vinton, Benjamin Lynde, William Upham, 
Ezra Upham, John Grover ye 3d, Unite Cox, Joseph Bar- 
rett, Jr., Phineas Sprague, John Grover, Jr., John Gould, 
Phineas Sprague, Joseph Lynde, and John Pratt. Here we 
have nearly all the old family names represented. There 
was liardly a man living here at the time, who was able to 
bear arms, wlio did not start as a "minute-man," when the 
alarm was sounded. The two Spragues mentioned above 
were father and son ; the father living on Foster Street and 
the son on Porter Street. The father died in 1805, aged 80. 
Mr. Barrett says of the three brothers, Thomas, Timothy 
and Ezra Vinton, who lived at the Highlands and went in 
Capt. Sanuiel Sprague's company from Stoneham ; "After 
the men had left for Concord, the women, fearing that they 
might suffer for the want of food, filled some saddle-bags 
full of provision, put them upon an old horse owned by 
Phineas Sprague, and Israel Cook mounted the horse and 
started for Concord. When near the place, fearing that he 
might meet the British on their return, he turned into a 
by-road to avoid them. Tliey soon came in sight, and dis- 
covered him. One of the soldiers left the ranks, crossed the 
field, shot at Cook and killed the horse, and then hastened 
back to the ranks. Cook, nothing daunted, shouldered the 
saddle-bags, and trudged on till he met the men who were 
sadly in want of something to eat." 

After the Revolution the quiet farm life, with the little 
of the shoe manufacturing element which has been referred 
to, went on, nearly up to the time when the Boston and 
Maine Railroad was l)uilt, which was opened through here 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 27 

July 4, 1845. After this a new impetus was given to immi- 
gration. Some of the old farms were sold to be cut up into 
house-lots, and people began to come and abide with us. 

FIRST TOWN MEETING. 

Our town was incorporated May 3, 1850. The first 
Town Meeting was held May 10, in "Academy Hall ;" 
The warrant had two articles, viz.: "To choose a moderator; 
to choose all necessary Town Officers for the year ensuing." 
The first principal officers then elected were as follows : 
Elbridge Green, Town Clerk. Jeremiah Martin, Isaac 
Emerson, Jr. and Artemas Barrett, Selectmen. Aaron Green, 
S. L. Taylor and William J. Farnsworth, Assessors. Isaac 
Emerson, Treasurer and Collector. Henry A. Norris, Caleb 
Howard and Elbridge Green, School Committee. James 
Howard, Highway Surveyor. Six only of this number are 
with us now. 

The citizens of to-day receive a somewhat bulky pam- 
phlet containing the annual reports of the various town 
officers. Not so at the end of our first year, in the spring of 
1851. The report then made is something of a curiosity; 
and, as such, I now hold it up before you. It is a broadside, 
10 X 12 inches. It is headed, " Report of the Financial 
Concerns of the Town of Melrose, From May 20, 1850, to 
April 1, 1851," and is signed by Jonathan Cochran, Josiah 
W. Talbot, and John Blake, Financial Committee. The 
venerable Deacon Cochran, 86 years of age, is the only one of 
these three with us to-day. A few of the items on this first 
report are worth noticing. It was the day of small things 
and small expenses when compared with our present labors 
and outlays. "Jeremiah Martin, for Serv. as Selectman, $4. — 
Running town lines, $10 — Examining Dix Pond, Railing 
and Culverts, $2 — Cash paid for Printing, 14.25 — Laying- 
out Streets, $12 — Letting and Superintending Vinton 
Street, $4 — Cash paid for Jury Box, and for Stationery, $5.90, 
$52.15. "Artemas Barrett, for Services as Selectman, $32. 
"Isaac Emerson, Jr., Services as Selectman, &c., $34.88." 
Elbridge Green and Caleb Howard, School Committee, were 
paid $12 and $10 respectively. "Elbridge Green, for Ser- 



I 



28 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

vices as Town Clerk, Express Bills, &c., '19.50." " Isaac 
Emerson, for services as Treasurer and for Blank Book, i9. 13." 
S. L. Taylor, Aaron Green and Wm. J. Farnsworth, Asses- 
sors, were paid respectively, 113.75, $15 and $17.25. 

LITERATURE. 

Melrose in literature has reached a standard which is 
commendable, and of which we may feel well pleased. 

We have with us to-day, Samuel Adams Drake, wdiose 
busy pen has given us the " Old Landmarks of Boston," 
" Historic Fields and Mansions of Middlesex," and " Nooks 
and Corners of the New England Coast;" besides his "Bun- 
ker Hill," "Israel Putnam," and other minor publications. 
The volumes referred to treat of historical subjects in the 
most pleasant and profitable manner; giving incident, anec- 
dote and history in a very readable style. May we again 
and again be favored with his contributions, brimful as they 
are of historic lore. 

Mr. Frederick Kidder has given the world a long array 
of historical works ; among which are " Eastern Maine and 
Nova Scotia," " Expedition of Capt. John Lovewell," " The 
Boston Massacre," " First N. H. Regiment in the Revolu- 
tion," and, in connection with Dr. A. A. Gould, a " History 
of New Ipswich, N. H.," his native town, — all valuable 
works, requiring much research and patient investigation. 

For many years Mr. William Frederic Poole was one of 
our citizens, whose trenchant pen has produced many valuable 
papers on various historical subjects, the sharpest and best, 
perhaps, being his witchcraft monograms: "Cotton Mather 
and Salem Witchcraft;" "The Witchcraft Delusion of 1692," 
&c.; the " Battle of the Dictionaries," and other orthographi- 
cal papers; "Anti-Slavery Oj)inions before the year 1800;" 
and "The Ordinance of 1787, and Dr. Manasseh Cutler," 
a reprint from the North American Review for April, 1876. 
The two last were written since he left Melrose. 

We have had with us — now, alas ! no more — Mr. Joseph 
E. Babson, known in newspaper and magazine literature as 
"Tom Folio." He has written much, and edited some 
volumes containing rare and interesting papers of the 



TOWN OF MELltOSE. 29 

English writers ; among them, Charles Lamb, Leigh Hunt 
and Douglas Jerrokl. 

Deacon Gilbert Nash, a resident of Melrose many years, 
gave us, while here, a poetic volume of " Bay Leaves." 

And we have the veteran poultry raiser and author, 
Capt. George P. Burnham, who has written a number of 
works about fowls, including the " Hen Fever ; " and recently 
he has told us about the "$100,000 in Gold, and how to 
make it." Most of us would be perfectly well satisfied if 
we were told just how to make a hundred thousand dollars 
in currency ! 

It is a pleasure to mention our talented towns-woman, 
Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, the eminent lecturer and editor, 
whose tongue and pen champion every good cause. 

The "Melrose Journal" issued its first number Dec. 10, 
1870, still lives and flourishes, is a good, well conducted 
local paper, giving us all the items of news that take place 
in Melrose, and some that do not. We have also a history 
of Melrose in the late civil war; * and other books and pam- 
phlets have been written by our citizens, all of which have 
given to Melrose a creditable place in literature. 

HEALTH. 

Much has been said, in times gone by, concerning the 
health of the town of Melrose. The unfounded prejudices 
of some, or the unconsidered remarks of a non-resident phy- 
sician, have been quoted ; and, by and through these wrong 
opinions and harmful inuendos, Melrose has suffered. I 
think this to be one of the most healthy communities around 
Boston, and that facts and figures will substantiate the 
assertion. When the late historian of Haverhill, George 
Wingate Chase, was a resident of our town, he was engaged 
in the Secretary of State's office compiling the census for 
1865. His attention having been called to this matter of 
health, he told me that he took the tables of the Registration 
Reports for quite a number of years, and made a comparison 

* " Tlie Melrose Memorial. The Annals of Melrose, County of Mid- 
dlesex, Massachusetts, during the Great Rebellion of 1861-5. By Elbridge 
H. Goss. Melrose. 1868." 



30 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

with the other towns, and that Meh-ose stood number three, 
by these figures. Dr. E. O. Phinney, long a resident phy- 
sician, told me, a few years ago, that he also had made an 
examination of this subject, so far as the figures of the imme- 
diately adjoining towns were concerned, and that ours stood 
the best ; and that, from his own experience, he considered 
it one of the most healthy of towns. And I think from our 
own observation we can say that ours is a very healthy com- 
munity. Look at some of the ages to which have lived some 
of the members of our old families. Capt. Phiiieas Sprague 
died in 1869, at the age of 92 ; Jonatlian Lynde, 8o : his 
brother William, now 83, is still living on the old Lynde 
homestead on Washington Street. Ezra Vinton died at the 
age of 63, his widow 79; Tliomas Vinton 85, his wife 84; 
and Timothy Vinton 92. These were of the three Vinton 
homesteads at the Highlands. John Green, of the " John 
Green house," was 84, and many others of the Greens were 
very old when they died. William Emerson was 88, and his 
wife 77 ; Isaac Emerson 74, his widow 79. These were the 
grandparents and parents of our present Isaac and George 
Emerson. The names of many others might be given, and 
some have been already mentioned, when speaking of the 
old families, who have attained very advanced ages : the 
tombstones in our "Village" and " Wyoming Cemetery " 
attest the same fact, very many of the ages far exceeding 
the allotted three score and ten ; all of which most assuredly 
indicates that ours is not an unhealthy town, but, on the 
contrary, that it is a very healthy town. 

SPOT POND WATER. 

This blessing to our homes cainiot be omitted in enumer- 
ating our institutions. Not until after a very severe contest 
did we obtain it ; but it is ours to-day, and it would take a 
large sum of money to purchase the franchise of Melrose. 
The first action taken towards the introduction of this water 
into the three towns of Maiden, Medford and Melrose, was 
in 1867, when Messrs. Samuel E. Sewall, Daniel W. Gooch, 
and George W. Heath of our town, together with three 
gentlemen from each of the other two towns, were incorpo- 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 31 

rated as the " Spot Pond Water Company." Nothing was 
done by the three towns towards taking the water until 1869, 
when Mekose, after a series of town meetings, in wliich the 
question was thoroughly discussed by those in favor and those 
against takino- it, voted to unite with Maiden and Medford 
in purchasing the franchise of the " Spot-Pond Water Com- 
pany." This action was duly consummated, the water- 
works were finished and first used Aug. 26th, 1870 ; since 
which time, we have been enjoying the luxury of this great 
boon, of pure, soft water, for beautifying our grounds, and 
for manufacturing and domestic purposes. 

Spot Pond is not only a very beautiful sheet of water, 
surrounded as it is with wild and magnificent scenery ; 
l)ut it has a history. It is first mentioned by Governor 
John Winthrop in his Journal, under date of Feb. 7, 1632. 
He says : The governour, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Eliot and others, 
went over Mistick River at Medford, and going N. and 
by E. among the rocks about two or three miles, they came 
to a very great pond, having in the midst an island of about 
one acre, and very thick with trees of pine and beech ; and 
the pond had divers small rocks, standing up here and there 
in it, which they therefore called Spot Pond. They went 
all about it upon the ice. From thence (towards the N. W. 
about half a mile,) they came to the top of a very high rock, 
beneath which, (towards the N.) lies a goodly plain, part 
open land, and part woody, from whence there is a fair 
prospect, but it being close and rainy, they could see but 
a small distance. This place they called Cheese Rock, 
because, when they went to eat somewhat, they had only 
cheese (the governour's man forgetting, for haste, to put up 
some bread)." From that day to this the pond has borne 
the name then given it. " Spott Pond," with its island, 
appears on a map of this part of New England, which 
appeared in William Wood's " New England's Prospect," 
in 1634. Many very interesting items and incidents of its 
history might be given did time permit. A thrilling tragedy, 
the murder of Jacob Gould, occurred Nov. 25th, 1819, in the 
Gould house, on the Stoneham road, a little way from the 
northern border of the Pond. 



32 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 



L Pond. 

I have ever regretted the attempt to change the name of 
our pretty little sheet of water, " L Pond," to " Crystal Lake." 
It has been known as L Pond for two and a quarter centuries. 
As early as 1648, according to the Charlestown Records, 
" Bros, Robt. Hale and Thomas Lind Avere ordered to lay 
out young Thos. Coitmore's two lots by Ell Pond, he to send 
one to go with them to help them." Here it is spelt Ell. 
This was nineteen years after Charlestown was settled, and 
shows us that the territory of Melrose was very earl}- exam- 
ined, and the pond named. In the inventory of the widow 
Martha Coitmore's estate, made in 1648, appears the item, 
" 130 acres land at ell pond;" and in laying out the road 
from Reading to Chelsea, in 1653, it is called the same. In 
the Maiden records, under date of Apr. 27, 1699, Corp. John 
Green, Phineas Upham and Joseph Floyd were appointed a 
Committee to run "y" bounds and renew y" marks between 
proprietors land: and }''' small peece of common land : adjoin- 
ing to L pond : which was left for convenenc for wattering." 
It has been called Eel Pond, but old deeds generally give it 
as a capital L, and its name was undoubtedly given it from 
its shape. Now here is this pond of ours, a gem in our 
centre, most appropriately and rightly named. It is a good 
old name, like those of others round about here, named, by 
the early settlers, Spot, Mystic, Horn, Spy, Long, Swain's, 
Smith's, and Humphrey's Ponds ; and, as Savage says, refer- 
ring to Spot Pond, "succeeding generations have reverenced 
the first nomination." Our Long and Swain's Ponds were 
named as early as the year 1660. We have seen when, by 
whom, and under what circumstances Spot Pond Mas named ; 
and who so rash as to wish for an instant to change that name? 
But somebody, nobody knows who, has given our L Pond a 
new name, — " Crystal Lake." Crystal Lake, forsooth ! and 
that when there is another pond within two or three miles, 
bearing the same name. Whoever wishes may call it "Cr^-stal 
Lake," or "Cerulean Lake," or "Sylvan Lake," or a lake 
with any other mellifluous title ; but as for me, give me the 
old-fashioned, matter-of-fact, reasonable, well-founded name 



TOM^N OF MELROSE. 33 

of " L Pond." In this pond both shad and alewives used to 
be taken in large numbers, giving food to the earlier inhabit- 
ants. Fish ladders were foi'merly made at the mill-dams 
below, to enable the fish to reach the pond j and when the 
mill-owners came to make opposition to this method, it is said 
that the fish were carried to the pond in tubs of water. 
Wright says, that " much excitement has prevailed at differ- 
ent periods in the town, since 1695, concerning the passage 
of alewives from the tide-water up to Ell Pond, in the north 
part of the town. Much time and money have been expend- 
ed upon this subject, to little or no purpose." There was 
once, before the memory of any one now living, I think, a 
grist-mill near its outlet, which caused, at times, a great 
flowing back of water, up towards the Highlands. And 
there are those here to-day that remember very distinctl}' 
when all of the north side of the pond was covered with a 
most dense forest of very large cedar trees : they were not 
only very large, but very close together. And many of us 
remember the war of " high and low water," when one party 
wished the water up, and another down ; and the downs 
prevailed, causing wells to dry, and walls to tumble, and 
consequent damages to be paid by the town. 

MELROSE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 

The story of " Melrose in the Rebellion of 1861-5," has 
been told in a volume which is in many of your homes. As 
yet it is the only monument that has been raised by us to 
the memory of the "Boys in Blue" who went forth to fight 
the battles for Melrose, or who yielded their all, their lives, 
for the sacred cause. From the record as there given, I think 
no one can dispute the fact that her history is a noble one; 
that she did what she could; that she gave freely and 
liberally of her men and money. Up to the time that volume 
was issued, in 1868, twenty-three — two commissioned offi- 
cers and twenty-one enlisted men — of the two hundred 
and three citizens of our town who were in the ranks of our 
armies during the Rebellion, had lain down their lives for 
their country — for your homes and for mine. Since that 
time, a number of others who served upon our quotas have 
5 



34 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

followed their comrades to the land of the hereafter. Nor 
would we forget, by any means, many others, who, after the 
war, made their home with us, and have since gone to their re- 
ward. But recently we placed a wreath upon all their graves ; 
upon that of the nurse as well as that of the soldier. Those 
Avreaths will wither ; but the memory of their deeds and the 
service they rendered, never. 

Some time ago, in an address delivered by one of our 
most disting-uished orators, eulogistic remarks were made 
concerning the amount of money given, and the number of 
men raised for the war, by the town for which he was speaking, 
which led me to make an examination of the returns as given 
in the late Gen. Schouler's "History of Massachusetts during 
the Civil War," — the volume devoted to the "Towns and 
Cities." From the comparison then made I am prepared to 
say, that, so far as this grand old county of Middlesex is 
concerned, no town or city did better, if as well, as Melrose. 
She contributed a larger amount according to her valuation, 
furnished more men according to her population, and had a 
larger surplus of men over and above her quotas, at the end 
of the war. Take one or two examples: we furnished over 
$38,000, 454 men, and a surplus of 73. Cambridge, with 
ten times the population and fifteen times the valuation of 
Melrose, furnished f 450,000, 3600 men, and had a surplus of 
158 ; Charlestown, with nine times the population and valu- 
ation, $168,000, 4300 men, and a surplus of 111 ; and our 
mother town. Maiden, with more than double our valuation 
and population, furnished $60,000, 642 men, and had a 
surplus of 71 men. Our record is a good one; one that each 
and all of us, citizen or soldier, may cherish and not be afraid 
to show. 

TEMPERANCE. 

Not always, as now, has Melrose been a temperance town. 
Time was when liquor was sold freely in very many places. 
At elections, and on other public occasions, drunkenness was 
a crying evil ; but, thanks be to God ! times have changed, 
and our town now is a noted temperance one ; and although 
a license law is on our statutes, we have a temperance 



Town OF MELROSE. 35 

Board of Selectmen, consequently no licenses are granted. 
And we now have seven temperance organizations in our 
town, viz.: the "Independent Order of Good Templars," 
" Siloam Temple of Honor," " Siloam Social Temple of 
Honor," "Cadets of Temperance," "Highland Division of 
the Sons of Temperance," "Loyola Temperance Cadets," 
and the "Catholic Total Abstinence Society;" all of which 
are in a sound and flourishing condition. 

THEN AND NOW. 

In 1850, twenty-six years ago, when Melrose was incor- 
porated, our population was 1260 ; now it is a little over 
4000; it was 3990 by the census of 1875. Then we had 
125 dwelling houses ; now 946. (I take the figures of the last 
Assessors' Report.) Then our valuation, both real and per- 
sonal estate, was $483,446.00 ; now i4,452,828.10. Then we 
had one school-house, with three schools ; now seven ; and 
there are in these buildings fourteen schools. Then we had 
three churches ; now eight. Then the old-fashioned " well- 
sweep" and pump ; now " Spot Pond Water " running 
through sixteen miles of our twenty-eight miles of streets. 
We have the illuminating gas passing through all our prin- 
cipal streets, and in our public buildings. We have a fine 
Town House, which was dedicated June 17, 1874, and 
which, considering its cost, is hard to be excelled in beauty 
and convenience ; on it is a town clock, the gift of our 
public-spirited fellow-citizen, Daniel Russell, Esq. We 
have a well-selected and growing Public Library, founded 
in 1871, now containing three thousand volumes, the circu- 
lation of which is very large and constantly increasing ; a 
Savings Bank, in which all the inhabitants may deposit 
their surplus earnings. Of course we have the best list of 
town officers that it is possible to have, for do we not elect 
them ourselves ? We have an excellent Fire Department, 
well organized. The Melrose Orchestra, whose sweet strains 
we have often enjoyed, we now enjoy ; and may it long 
continue to enliven us with its melodies. The Melrose Mu- 
sical Association, seven Temperance organizations, a lodge 
of Odd Fellows, and I don't know how many odd women I 



36 IIJ.STOIUCAL ADDRESS. 

A Masonic body, with any quantity of degrees, chapters and 
encampments, with a most excellent hall ; a Grand Army 
Post for the " Boys that were in Blue ;" Battery C and its 
Armory Hall ; a Lyceum, with its 3'early course of lectures 
and concerts. F'or literary clubs, we have the " Franklin 
Fraternity" and the "Round-about Club;" and then we 
have a Boat Club, Ball Clubs, &c.; also a live local paper 
with a live local editor. In short, I would be pleased to 
have you mention anything we have not in this town of 
ours. 

We are but seven miles from Boston, with line railroad facili- 
ties, having three depots, Wyoming, Centre, and the High- 
lands ; and these travelling facilities to be soon increased, if 
the rumors concerning "narrow-gauge," " Upham Hill," 
" Swain's Pond," etc., ever become realities. And if there is 
one thing more than another characteristic of our people, 
and which prophecies well for our future steady and healthy 
growth, I think it may be the homogeneousness of our citizens. 
We do not have, as many towns do, distinctive classes. The 
interests of all are intertwined. As such is now the case, and 
we do not have these conflicting elements, let us do all we can 
to keep this town as it is ; and with all these institutions, facil- 
ities and advantages, I j^redict for Melrose a gradual but sure 
growth. With these, nothing can stay our progress ; and that 
nothing may, is the hearty wish of him who addresses you 
to-day. 

We have one of the most prettily situated towns in all 
New England, to say the least ; and to judge of this I do not 
mean for you to take a hasty drive through the town, only, 
even if you do go through Wyoming Avenue, Ravine Road, 
Lake Avenue, the Highlands, or other of our fair parts ; but 
go also to the summit of " Mount Zion " in the east, " Boston 
Rock" in the south, "Barrett's Mount" in the centre, or 
"Vinton Hill" or "West Rock" in tlie north, and tell me 
if the views are not charming ; especially from this last hill, 
from whence an extensive range of vision is had, — Mount 
Wachuset, mountains in New Hampshire, the ocean, and, 
at your feet, our own Melrose, in peace and beauty, up and 
down our valley, with its public buildings plainly seen, its 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 37 

church sph-es pointing heavenward, and phicid little L 
Pond in the centre. You that have been there know the 
truth whereof I speak ; and you that have not, go, and then 
tell me if I speak too enthusiastically. 

Fellow citizens : all of these things are ours to enjoy. 
Such being the case, let us all, each and every one, do what 
we may to further the interest of this good town of Melrose ; 
that she may increase in wisdom and wealth ; that she may 
ever foster religion, temperance, morality and education ; 
that she may deserve God's blessing ; that she may continue, 
as she now is, a prosperous, happy community ; and so 
growing, and we so caring for all right and true interests, 
that he who, at the next Centennial, July 4, 1976, may 
perform the task I am now closing, may have nothing but 
good to say of Melrose! In the words of Dickens' Tiny 
Tim, " God bless us, every one ! " 



Note. No one realizes better than myself, that there are matters con- 
cerning our town left unsaid in the foregoing Address, which should have 
been mentioned; but it was absolutely impossible for the writer, involved 
as he was with other duties, to do more than he did in the three weeks 
which elapsed between the time of the request and the occasion. Perhaps, 
hereafter, this text may be enlarged into a "History of Melrose." 

E. H. G. 



PROCEEDINGS 



On the 25th of May, 1876, the President of the United States 
issued the following Proclamation : — 

Whereas, a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives of the United States was duly approved on the 13th day of March 
last, which resolution is as follows : 

''Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of tJie United 
States, in Congress assembled : 

"That it be and is hereby recommended by the Senate and House of 
Representatives to the people of the several States, that thej' assemble in 
their several counties or towns, on the approaching centennial anniversary 
of our national independence; and that they cause to have delivered on 
such day an historical sketch of said county or town from its formation; 
and that a copy of said sketch may be filed, in print or manuscript, in the 
clerk's office of said county, and an additional copy, in print or manuscript, 
be tiled in the office of the librarian of Congress, to the intent that a com- 
plete record may thus be obtained of the progress of our institutions dur- 
ing the first centennial of their existence." 

Whereas, It is deemed proper that such recommendation be brought to 
the notice and knowledge of the people of the United States, 

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do 
hereby declare and make known the same, in the hope that the object of 
such resolution may meet the approval of the people of the United States, 
and that proper steps maj^ be taken to carry the same into effect. 

Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 25th of May, in 
the year of our Lord 1870, and of the independence of the United States 
the one hundredtli. U. S. GRANT. 

By the President. 

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State. 

On the 6th of June, at a regular meeting of the Board of 
Selectmen, Messrs. Walter Babb, Henry G. Fields and Nathan 
D. Blake, the following gentlemen were appointed a Committee, 
with full power, to arrange for the Celebration in accordance with 
the above Proclamation: Messrs. George F. Stone, William L. 
Williams, Joseph D. Wilde, Henry G. Fields, W. Irving 



40 PROCEEDINGS. 

Elms, Artemus Rarreit, Levi S. Gould, John W. Farweix, 
John O. Norris, Charles C. Barry, George E. Carr, George 
Emerson, and Elbridge H. Goss. This Committee held its first 
meeting in the Selectmen's Room, June 12th. Mr. Stone not 
being able to serve on the Committee, resigned, and it was then 
organized as follows: J. D. Wilde, Chairman; J. W. Faravell, 
Secretary; and C. C. Barry, Treasurer; and the following gen- 
tlemen were added to the Committee: Messrs. Walter Bahr, 
Nathan D. Blake, Thomas J. Kimball, Samuel A, Drake, 
P'rank a. Messenger, Horatio N. Perkins, Moses S. Page, 
and Clark B. Baldavin. The various Sub-Committees were 
appointed as follows: Finance, Messrs. Ellis, Kimball, Carr 
and Blake ; Music, Messrs. Emerson, Norris, Fields and Carr; 
Decorations, Messrs. Wilde, Williams and Farwell; Invitations 
to Representatives of the Old Families, Messrs. Gould and 
Barrett; Printing and Programme, Messrs. Drake, Babb, 
Williams, Cai:r and Emerson; Regatta, C. C. Barry; Base- Ball 
Match, Messi's. Blake and Babi5; Invitations to Clergymen, W. L. 
Williams; Croquet Match, W. L, Williajis; Antiques and 
Horribles, M. S. Page. 

It was voted to request Hoil Danip:l W. Gooch to act as 
President of the Day, Mr. George E. Munroe to read the Decla- 
ration of Independence, and Mr. Elbridge H. Goss to prepare a 
historical sketch of the town. Various other meetings of the 
Committee were held, and all the necessary steps taken to have 
what proved to be a very successful celebration. 



THE CELEBRATION. 

At sunrise, the bells of the town were rung, a salute fired by 
a section of Battery C, and the large and handsome thirty-foot 
flag, presented to the town by the ladies, thrown to the breeze 
from the top of town hall. Following this came a procession of the 
Antiques and Horribles, under the command of Chief Marshall 
Klaw-IIammer, ending with an oration from the music-stand on 
School-house Green, on Emerson Street, by Col. Much ChiiL 
From seven to eight o'clock a concert was given at the music- 
stand by the Melrose Orchestra Band, undei- the direction of Mi-. 
B. Frank Burnham. At eight o'clock, on tlie green in front of 
the "Mountain House," there was a match game of Base r>all 
between the "Mutuals,"Capt. Charles Merrill, and the "Alphas," 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 41 

Capt. Edward E. Babb, Prizes, $7 and |3. Score: " Mutuals," 
28; "Alphas," 4. At ten o'clock, a match game of Croquet, on 
the lawn of Isaac Emerson, Esq., between Col. Francis S. 
Hesseltine and Rev. Daniel P. Livermore, and Messrs. Wil- 
liam D. Serrat and Frank G. Howard. Prizes, two ebony 
wood croquet mallets, won by Messrs. Serrat and Howard. At 
12 o'clock, M., there was a general ringing of bells, with a salute. 
At 2 o'clock the literary and musical exercises took place at the 
town hall, with the following Programme: — 

ORDER OF EXERCISES. 

Reading of the President's Proclamation, . . . Mr. .Joseph D. Wilde 

Introductory Remarks, Hon. Daniel W. Gooch 

Prayer, Rev. D. Allen Morehouse 

Music, "The Great Centennial Year," — Words and Music by Mrs. Georgie 

N. Bordman. (Sung by the pupils of the common schools.) 
Reading of the Delaration of Independence, . Mr. George E. Munroe 
Music, "America," Melrose Orchestra and Chorus of Male Voices 
Cornet Solo, "Young America Polka," . . . . Mr. Walter Emerson 

Historical Sketch of Melrose, Mr. Elbridue H. Goss 

Marching Song, "The School Brigade," . Mrs. Georgie N. Bordman 

(Sung by the school children.) 
Presentation of the Flag to the Town, .... Miss Carrie L. Wilde 

Response, Mr. Walter Babb 

Music, "Star Spangled Banner," Orchestra and Chorus of Male Voices 

Closing Remarks, Rev. William A. Start 

Doxology, "Old Hundred," By the Audience 

Benediction Rev. Napoleon B. Thompson 



Mr, Wilde introduced the proceedings at the hall, by reading 
the President's Proclamation; after which, in a few appropriate 
remarks, he presented the President of the Day, Hon. D. W. Gooch, 
who made the following Address: 

MR. GOOCH'S ADDRESS. 

Fellow Citizens: 

Your Committee of Arrangements has assigned to me the pleasant duty 
of presiding at this meeting, for which I tender my sincere thanks. 

To-day closes the first hundred years of our national life, and we all 
most cheerfully respond to the resolution, passed by the Senate and House 
of Representatives, approved by the President, and enforced by his Procla- 
mation, to the reading of which you have just listened. 

It is a pleasant thought, that, on this day, the people of every mu- 

6 



42 PROCEEDINGS. 

nlcipality throughout our l)road hxnd are called upon to assemble and 
listen to an liistorical sketch of the leading and important events which 
have transpired within it since its formation. It will make a most valuable 
contribution to our country's and the world's history, to which future 
generations will tu^p with deep interest. 

It has been truly said, that the American Revolution was born in the 
primary assembly, in the town meeting. We all know that the most inter- 
esting portions of New England history are found in our municipal 
records; and it is certainly well, that, as a part of the exercises of this 
Centennial Anniversary, we should devote something of time and effort 
to extending and perfecting these records, and giving to them a more 
enduring form and greater publicity. 

Fellow Citizens: One hundred years ago to-day, the declaration of 
the great principles on which this nation was to stand, and in accordance 
with which its government was to be administered, was made to the world; 
principles so plain, so simple, so just, that thej' almost immediately com- 
manded the earnest and hearty support of all loyal and patriotic men; and 
yet so broad, so deep, so comprehensive, so far in advance of anything 
the world had ever known, that it has cost two bloody wars, almost count- 
less millions of monej', hundreds of thousands of lives, and a century of 
time to secure for them practical recognition in the legislation and admin- 
istration of the government. God grant that no succeeding century shall 
ever undo or impair the nol)le work which the first has accomplished. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: The programme of the entertainment 
provided for this afternoon, which you hold in your hands, admonishes 
me that I must not detain you from its enjoj'ment. 



PRESENTATION OF THE FLAG. 

The President, upon introducing Mi.ss Wilde, avIio presented, 
in behalf of the ladies, and Mr. Babb, Chairman of the Board of 
Selectmen, who received, in behalf of the town, a beautiful flag, 
which had just been purchased by the ladies, and was then float- 
ing over the town hall, — spoke as follows : — 

When the Declaration of Independence was declared from the State 
House, at Philadelphia, the king's arms were taken down, carried to the 
Common, and burned. The Declaration ended the supremacy of England 
over the Colonies, and by this act the symbol of her power was destroj-ed. 
There are many traditions as to the origin and devices of our flag, but 
neither the time or circumstance of its first use is definitely known. 
Almost a year after the Declaration of Independence, the American 
Congress, by formal resolution, adopted it; and from that time the stars 
and stripes have been our national banner, and every loyal citizen has ever 
looked to it with pride and satisfaction : with pride, because it has com- 
manded the respect of the world; with satisfaction, because it pledges the 
mighty power of the government, whose symbol it is, to the protection of 
every citizen. 



TOWN OF MELROSE. 43 

A few days ago it occurred to Miss Minnie C. Kimball, tliat it would 
be a very appropriate and graceful act for our ladies, on this occasion, to 
present to the town, for use in connection with this building, the American 
Flag ; and the ladies, responding cheerfully to the call of Miss Kimball, 
have procured the beautiful Hag which now floats above us; and Miss Carrie 
L. Wilde, in behalf of the donors, will now present, and Walter Babb, 
Esq., in behalf of the town, will receive it. 

MISS wilde's address. 

Honored Sir: 

On the 14th of June, 1777, nearly a year after the Declaration of 
Independence, whose centennial anniversary we are this day celebrating, 
the Continental Congress adopted, as our national banner, the stars and 
stripes in the following resolution : — 

''Resolved, That the flag' of the thirteen United States be thirteen 
stripes, alternate I'ed and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in 
a blue field, representing a new constellation." 

Since the day this resolution was adopted, great and wonderful 
changes have taken place in our nation's history. The noble men then 
assembled at Philadelphia have long since passed away, leaving to us this 
emblem of union and liberty, to be kept unsullied and to be passed by us 
to the care and keeping of coming generations. All loyal hearts love and 
reverence it, and in times of peril thousands have been found ready to 
rally to its defence. In times of peace, we love to decorate our homes and 
public buildings, on festal days, with this national standard. We teach 
even the children to love and cheer it when they see it floating in the 
breeze, and all because it speaks to our hearts of the country we love so 
well, of the liberty we enjoy, and of the ever increasing brightness of that 
" new constellation " which our revolutionary fathers labored so earnestly 
to place among the nations of the earth. 

In every town and city of our country this standard waves to-day, the 
emblem of a free people, inspiring them with both loyalty and patriotism. 

" Its hues are all of Heaven : 
The red, of sunset dye ; 
The whiteness, of the moonlit cloud; 
The blue, of morning sky." 

It is with pleasure, sir, that, in behalf of the ladies of Melrose, I present 
to the town the beautiful flag now waving over this hall. We felt that 
we could no more appropriately celebrate this hundredth anniversary of 
our nation's independence than by placing in charge of our town officers 
this cheri.shed symbol of freedom. I would, therefore, ask you to accept 
this flag ; and I charge you to guard sacredly its honor, and see that no 
disloyal heart ever insults or dishonors it; and that, in years to come, 
it may be seen proudly waving over true hearts, and in sight of our peace- 
ful, happy homes. 



44 PROCEEDINGS. 



MR. BABRS RESPONSE. 

Mr. President: 

It would be a bold man indeed who would at this late hour, and under 
this oppressive heat, attempt anything like a speech, even on an occasion 
so grand as this, the reception of a Centennial Flag from the hands of the 
ladies of Melrose; and more particularly after the subject has been so fully 
covered, as it has been, by the eloquent remarks of our president, in the 
introduction of the young lady who has so gracefully and beautifully made 
the speech of presentation. 

Mayor Cobb, of Boston, said, the other day, in presenting bouquets to the 
school children, that the duties of the Mayor were not always pleasant, 
that he was often brought into contact with hard men, men devoid of 
principle, and that sometimes his official duties were distasteful and un- 
pleasant; but, said he, this occasion, the meeting with the graduates of the 
public schools of Boston, listening to their merry voices in song and praise, 
more than offsets all things else. So let me 5ay that the selectmen of even 
so cultured a place as Melrose find many duties distasteful and unpleasant. 
We often find men unreasonable ; there is sometimes a clamor for impossi- 
ble things, and a great deal of fault found because we perform our duties 
as to us seems best ; and then comes in an occasion of this kind, and we 
forget it all. This occasion comes like a ray of sunlight through the storm- 
clouds. 

It has been left to the patriotic women of Melrose to complete the 
crowning act of this centennial "Fourth," in the presentation of the 
beautiful flag now flying from j'onder staff. In behalf of the town of 
Melrose I accept this flag ; not in the material sense, as so many square 
yards of bunting, but in that other and higher sense, as theemblem of our 
nationality and of everything worth preserving. I accept it as the emblem 
of a republican form of government, of free schools, churches, colleges 
and the ballot; as the embodiment of those principles which our soldiers 
in two wars so freely gave their life-blood, and so many of whom found 
it their winding sheet; as the emblem which all of us, whether living or 
dying, have learned to love, respect, and esteem. I receive it in behalf of 
this town of ours, of which this day we have heard so much in praise; this 
town, which twenty-six years ago had little but natural scenery to recom- 
mend it, now dotted all over with churches, .school-houses, public buildings, 
and every improvement for comfort and convenience; also represented by 
all the various fraternal and other societies which have done so much to 
uplift our race ; this town, which has .so many men and women of intel- 
ligence, which, for integrity and purity of morals, and for everything that 
goes to make a noble community, is equal to any and second to none in 
this commonwealth. In behalf of the town, then, I accept this flag, and 
assure the donors that, during the present administration, nothing shall be 
done that is not in keeping with all the sentiments expressed, and that no 
act of ours shall ever lower the standard now attained. This flag shall fly on 
all public occasions from this building, and as often as our eyes shall gaze 
upon it, with pride shall we ever remember the loyal, generous and 
patriotic women of Melrose, 



rOTFiV OF MELROSE. 45 

After the reception of the flag, Miss Wilde presented a silver 
medal, with appro])riate remarks, to Miss Minnie C. Kimball, as 
a token, from the ladies of Melrose, of their appreciation of her 
interest and success in raising the money for the beautiful flag, 
now the property of the town. On one side of this medal was 
engraved a flag; and on the other, "Presented to Minnie C. 
Kimball by the ladies of Melrose, July 4, 1876." 



The Committee to invite Representatives of the Old Families, 
issued a notice in the Melrose Journal, and also sent the fol- 
lowing circular of invitation : — 

The Committee appointed to make arrangements for the Centennial 
Celebration of American Independence respectfully solicit your presence, 
as natives of North Maiden, at the exercises to be held in the Town Hall, 
during the afternoon of July 4tb, as guests of the town of Melrose. Seats 
will be reserved for your accommodation, tickets for which will be fur- 
nished, upon application to the undersigned, or at the ticket office, in the 
Town Hall, after the doors are opened. 

In behalf of the Committee. 
Melrose, June 26, 1876. LEVI S. GOULD. 

In response to this invitation there was a very general accept- 
ance, the seats reserved for them being fully occupied. 

In the account of the proceedings of the day, in the Melrose 
Journal of July 8th, the following remarks occur concerning 
these exercises: — 

"These services in the hall were to many the chief enjoyment of the 
day. The spirited, patriotic introductory address by our honored towns- 
men, D. W. Gooch, the singing of "America," the sweet voices of the 
children, the fervent prayer by the Rev. Mr. Morehouse, the history of 
our beautiful town, and, lastly, the singing of "Old Hundred" by so 
many voices, all made an impressive service, which will mark the day as 
one of the pleasantest that ever passed." 

At six o'clock the regatta took place on L Pond; the first 
race being between the four-oared boats, the " Blues " and the 
"Reds," — the prize being a ten-foot flag, costing $10.00. The 
"Blues" were Charles B. Hill, stroke, Jerry Scammon, No. 2, 
John W. Robson, No. 3, and William D. Serrat, bow; the 
" Reds," Frank H. Damon, stroke, Frank T. Hinckley, No. 2, 
Jesse A, Dill, No. 3, and George E. Munroe, bow. The race 
was a very close one, but was won by the " Reds." The double 
scull race, for a prize of $3.00 in silver, was between Frank H. 



46 PROCEEDINGS. 

Damon and Elisha W. Conn, and Albert V>. Cleaveland and 
Walter C. Sanders; race won Ly tlie two latter. Tlie tub race, 
for a prize of $2.00 in silver, was between Milledge McAlmon 
and Charles S. Jones, and was won by the former. 

The decorations of the residences of many of our citizens were 
one of the most pleasing features of the day, many of the dis- 
plays being very fine; as were also the illuminations in the 
evening; both decorations and illuminations, combined, produced 
remarkably ]>leasant pictures in many instances. There was, 
also, an exhibition of rockets and fireworks in different parts of 
the town during the evening. Taken all in all, the celebration 
of the Centennial Fourth of July, 1876, in the town of Melrose, 
was a thorough and complete success in every particular; and 
the committee having charge of the arrangements, and the citi- 
zens generally, have every reason to feel satisfied with the result 
of their united labors. 

At the final meeting of the committee of arrangements, it 
was voted tliat its records be deposited with the town clerk, and 
that he be requested to make such entry of the celebration on 
the town records as he deemed necessary; and there being a 
small balance of money in the treasury, it was voted to deposit 
six dollars in the Melrose Savings Bank, principal and interest 
to be held until Melrose shall celebrate the one hundredth anni- 
versary of its incorporation, May 3, 1950: said sum to be added 
to the $1.50 now deposited in said bank, in the name of Dexter 
F. Munroe, Treasurer, which was a balance left in the hands of 
the committee that represented Melrose at Concord and Lexing- 
ton, at the celebration of the 19th of April, 1875. 




Press of T. VV. RipUy^ 138 Congress Street, Boston. 



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